Education

ST. CATHERINE’S ACADEMY FIGHTS DISEASE THROUGH FUNDRAISER

Cadets jog and jump rope in first-time dual fundraiser

By Staff     5/28/2015

ANAHEIM — Approximately 150 St. Catherine’s Academy students, from kindergarten through eighth grade, ran and jumped their way through a first-time-ever dual fundraising event May 15 that raised more than $2,000 to combat Friedreich’s Ataxia and heart disease.

It was the 16th year that the academy hosted its annual Jog-A-Thon to encourage donations for research and programs of the Friedreich’s Ataxia Research Alliance. Friedreich’s Ataxia is a debilitating, life-shortening degenerative neuromuscular disorder that affects one in 50,000 people in the United States.

The academy’s cadets also participated in a second fundraiser in support of the American Heart Association’s Jump Rope for Heart program.

“I’m so proud that for the first time SCA was able to participate in the AHA’s Jump Rope for Heart program, since heart disease is the No. 1 health threat in our nation,” said Sister Johnellen Turner, the principal and administrator of St. Catherine’s. “Our boys had an excellent time jumping and running for two very important causes.”